How to Make the Perfect Banana Bread

When you can’t get your kids to eat fruits like bananas, you have to think of other ways on how they can get the nutrients without eating the actual fruit. To do that, you can prepare banana bread, one of the most loved recipes of all time.

Banana bread is of course made with mashed bananas, a cake-like bread that is moist and sweet. This became popular back in 1930 when it was featured in most American cookbooks although it is said that it was first made in the 18th century. The first banana breads were first cooked by housewives who were claimed to be experimenting with pearlash or potassium carbonate. When the use of baking powder and baking soda became popular, so did this recipe. Nowadays, there are a lot of banana bread variants, with several ingredients that are added to make it even more sumptuous such as nuts, pecans, chocolate chips and a lot more.

For this recipe, learn how to make banana bread with pecans and chocolate. For the ingredients, you will need a cup of flour, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, 1/2cup granulated sugar and brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, an egg, 1/3 cup of sour cream, 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 3/4 cup pecans and a cup of mashed ripe bananas. If you would like to glaze the bread to make it even more appetizing, you will need powdered sugar and a splash of milk. For the tools, you will of course need your usual baking materials like the pan, mixing bowls, mixers, spoons, measuring tools and the like.

To prepare the recipe, you will need to first preheat your oven at 350 degrees. You will also need to grease a pan, a 9x5 inch loaf pan is recommended for this recipe. Combine the flour, the cocoa powder, salt and baking soda in a small mixing bowl and set aside. In another mixing bowl, a larger one, mix the sugar, vegetable oil and the sugar. Add the mashed bananas, vanilla and sour cream to the mixture and whisk well. For the dry ingredients, sift them over the wet ones and then fold them so that they are combined. When these are already mixed well, add the pecans. When you are done mixing the ingredients, pour over the pan and then back until the banana bread is slightly cracked and is firm when touched. This will take about an hour to bake. Before glazing the banana bread, you first have to allow it to cool. All you need to do is to put the milk in a bowl and then sift the sugar at the top. Whisk these two ingredients and make sure to add enough sugar so that a thick glaze is formed. Pour this glaze at the top of the banana bread and then top with the remaining pecans.

The secret to making moist banana bread is using bananas that are very ripe, the ones that already have brown spots over the peeling. You also need to mash the bananas very well so that they will easily combine with the other ingredients. And of course, it will take some trials before you can finally make the perfect banana bread for you and your kids.